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The Art of Bonding
VxlHPDr6yxo The Sister Pupils Akemi stopped once again, the tunnel she had been following for the past few minutes having once again led to a dead end. She had expected navigating the tunnel network to be difficult, as every corner and corridor looked identical with stone brick walls and a mix of dim electrical lights and torches, but her patience was beginning to wear thin. Having come to her fifth dead end, Akemi cursed under her breath and abruptly turned around. If she recalled correctly, there was a turn she could take just up ahead, though she wasn't sure where it led, perhaps just to yet another dead end. The thought of smashing through the walls had occurred to Akemi, however, she figured it best not to do anything that may attract the wrath of Sayuri. As much resentment as Akemi had for the woman, she wanted to stay on Sayuri's good side to ensure Sayuri shared her valuable secrets of power. Making the turn she had recalled a few minutes prior, Akemi immediately noticed a light at the end of the tunnel. Currently, it was difficult to make out any details, but the light appeared to be coming from a large chamber. There was, of course, the possibility that the chamber was itself another dead end, but even with that in mind Akemi was relieved to find something other than a brick wall. Quickening her pace, Akemi hurried towards the lit chamber. Upon exiting the cramped tunnel, Akemi found herself in was appeared to be a small underground canyon, two steep rocky inclines to either side of the chamber. The entire area was well lit, though Akemi noted that the light source was somehow hidden from view. The purpose of the chamber, Akemi inferred was a training area, which filled her with delight. The area would certainly allow her adequate space to move, being far beyond the compact dojo-type room Akemi had been expecting to find underground. Akemi's mind had just begun pondering what Sayuri's first lesson would be when Akemi noticed she heard a voice call out to her, one that she did not recognize. "So, you're the newcomer? My 'sister-disciple'?" The cool monotone voice came from a darkened area in the room. It belonged to a raven-haired teen girl, who laid against a giant boulder with her arms crossed, staring directly at Akemi with a stoic expression. Casually glancing over, Akemi took a moment to scan over the raven haired girl, taking in her appearance from top to bottom. Her dark attire blended in well to the shadows beneath the boulder, even her eyes seemed to hide in the shade. I Akemi had to guess, the girl was likely about the same age as her, perhaps a little younger. "Sayuri agreed to train me if that's what you are asking." Akemi answered, her own voice being equally monotone and casual as the girl's. "But. I wouldn't go so far as to call us sisters." "Heh, don't get me wrong. I'm just quoting what Sayuri told me, and she's more of a family member than you'll ever be, trust me." The girl's voice continued in a monotone, "And what's your purpose here? What do you seek from that woman?" "Why would my purpose concern you? We both are here because we require power, which Sayuri can provide. The details don't matter." "As a matter of fact, they do. I don't want some loser wasting Sayuri's, and particularly, my time chasing after futile dreams of grandiose. If I see you're dragging me down, I won't hesitate in cutting away the dead weight." A very slight hint of aggression could be sensed within the girl's voice, "So, I'll ask again. What is your purpose for seeking power from Sayuri?" Ever since the day Kimi failed her previous master and lost her to the Akatsuki, she vowed to never be weak again, to never lose what mattered to her. As it stood, this newcomer could only slow down her progress by splitting Sayuri's attention, and she wanted to make sure that wasn't the case. Akemi stared back at the girl for a moment, her expression unchanged. She wasn't quite yet sure what to make of the girl's sudden turn of aggression, issuing a blatant threat over something so trivial. If this conversation had taken place within the confines of Konohagakure, Akemi would have simply shrugged off the threat, put on a plastic smile and done her best to defuse the situation before it had even begun. Here however, there was no reason for Akemi to maintain a charade of friendliness and humility. "I seek power because that is my purpose." Akemi explained, still maintaining an indifferent tone of voice. "It is not something I have control over. I was meant to seek out power wherever it may be found, and achieve it by whatever means are needed. If achieving the power Sayuri possesses means allowing her to wield the weapon that I am, so be it." "What? So you think you're a weapon? To be used by others? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard! Did some moron just drill that into your head? Or are you really that brain-dead as to believe in such a thing?" The girl's voice grew slightly more outraged this time. Kimi had been used as a weapon before too, in a sense, and discarded once she showed a will besides that of her superiors, discarded and sentenced to destruction, after all she had done for their nation. After being forced to behave like a heartless, bloodthirsty monster, just like... just like... him. Kimi grit her teeth at the thought of the Uchiha kinslayer, a memory of the young man's ice-cold visage and crimson eyes flashing through her mind. "It is what I was made to be and I simply acknowledge the fact. I did not choose what I am but to deny it would be to reject my very existence." Akemi again turned on her heels, but this time in the direction of the tunnel she had exited from. As Akemi spoke she slowly began to walk towards the tunnel, no longer even looking the girl as she spoke. "I'm not so arrogant as to glorify what I am. I don't deserve to be called a kunoichi, I don't deserve to be called a shinobi. I barely should even be considered a human." "Why are you turning your back on me? I'm not done talking!" The girl performed the goat hand-seal and several hidden paper bombs blew up just above the entrance, causing a caving-in and stopping Akemi from leaving the room. The girl then left her dark stop and walked towards Akemi, "Sorry for locking us in here, but I really don't like being brushed aside that easily, you know?" "What do you think you're going to achieve by trapping me in here?" Akemi turned around once again to face Kimi. "Are you trying to start a confrontation with me? It wasn't the training I was looking for, but I suppose it will make an adequate warm up until I can find Sayuri." "If that's a challenge, you better be sure that you can handle the heat in this 'warm-up'." Kimi spoke with the same voice and expression, the only thing changing about her being her eyes, which turned crimson with briefly rotating tomoe as she finished talking. At this junction, Akemi knew words were not longer necessary. Reaching over her shoulder, Akemi wrapped her fingers over the handle of her kukri, drawing the weapon and holding out in front of her chest, parallel to the ground. Her steely gaze remained just below Kimi's eyes, Akemi being well aware of the Genjutsu abilities possessed by the Sharingan. The two young woman simply stood and looked at one another for a moment, the tension growing by the second. Both were in battle mode, fully prepared to strike down their "sister pupil" at the drop of a hat. The only thing the kunoichi were waiting on was or the other to be the one to make the first move. "Bonding" After a few more moments of tense silence, Akemi noticed Kimi inch forward, shifting her weight in preparation for an attack. That was all Akemi needed to see in order for retaliation to be justified. Rushing forward with unreal speed, Akemi dashed towards Kimi, slashing with her kukri as she closed the distance between them. ---- "So far they have proven to be as predictable as I had expected." Sayuri stated out loud as she pulled a strand of her long hair out of her cleavage. In the dark room, Sayuri's black kimono blended well. If not for the dim lights of the three large monitors surrounding her she would all but vanish in the darkness. Each of the monitors displayed a different angle of the large chamber Kimi and Akemi had just entered. "Regardless, this will be interesting to say the least." Raido ---- Kimi's eyes slightly widened in surprise at Akemi's quick onslaught, but she stood her ground nonetheless; Kimi quickly drew a kunai and proceeded to effectively block Akemi's fast strikes and lunges while repeatedly backstepping to try and get some distance, her Sharingan giving her a fluid read of her opponent's movements which otherwise would've been hard to perceive. As Akemi had predicted, though her strikes were fast and fierce, her opponent's Sharingan provided an adequate boost to her reflexes, allowing Kimi to block and parry the heavy blade of the kukri without harm. However, Akemi knew that the simple kunai wouldn't hold up to extended strikes from her diamond edged kukri. With each blow Akemi felt the kukri begin to bite deeper and deeper into the kunai. Performing a feigning strike, Akemi spun as he side stepped Kimi, delivering a powerful level strike, which, like the previous strikes was blocked by Kimi’s kunai. But unlike Akemi’s previous strikes, this time the kukri managed to cut so deeply into the kunai that it prevented Kimi from pulling away, her weapon refusing to move with her. With a simple yank, Akemi forced Kimi towards her, and delivered a hard elbow to the girl’s temple. Taking the hit, Kimi was forced to drop the damaged kunai and do a few acrobatic moves to avoid falling on the ground and create some distance between her and Akemi. At the last somersault, Kimi quickly took her right hand to her mouth in an "O" shape and shot a fireball at her opponent in mid-air, promptly landing swiftly afterward. With the fireball hurtling towards here, Akemi remained still, her kukri down at her side. It was evident that Akemi was making no effort to dodge. The flames engulfed her body, blasting against her face with immense heat. In a matter of seconds Akemi was little more than a dark silhouette in the fire. Taking note of Akemi's lack of effort in dodging the fireball, Kimi assumed she had something up her sleeve and tried to observe carefully, "Not moving, huh? What are you up to?" Kimi thought to herself, narrowing her eyes in curiosity. As if partaking in a strange dance, the flames began twisting, seeming to be moving around a central point. In a sudden rush of warm air, most of the flames disappeared, the only fire remaining being several candle-like wisps handing off of a pristine Akemi. From what happened, Kimi concluded the flames had been absorbed by some unique technique employed by Akemi, "So she sucked in the fire? I wonder what else she can absorb..." Standing in wait for Akemi's next move, Kimi secretly started building up lightning chakra within her for her own counterattack. "You've made two mistakes already." Akemi stated to Kimi, giving her kukri a quick spin before sheathing the weapon. "The first was thinking an inferior tool would protect you. The second mistake was attempting to utilize Fire Release against me. If you keep making errors at this rate you won't last long." Akemi began forming a rapid series of hand seals, her hands little more than a blur as they moved. Ending in the tiger hand seal, Akemi puffed her chest, Kimi's Fire Release chakra swelling inside her body. "Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!" Akemi practically roared her word as she expelled a large fire blast from her mouth, one significantly larger than the one Kimi had created. Waiting for the right time to evade Akemi's counterattack, Kimi stood still much in the same way her 'sister-pupil' had done prior, disappearing in a flash of lightning just as the flames were inches away from smoldering her body. All Akemi could see was another flash of lightning high in the air, then a large stream of it heading towards her at an alarming speed, giving her very little time to react. Jumping back as quickly as she could, Akemi brought her arms up in defense, facing her metal bracers outwards to block the incoming attack. Kimi, still shrouded in her lightning, managed to connect with one of the bracers, leaving a gash directly through the engraved Konoha emblem. Sliding back across the rock floor, Akemi slammed her palm into the ground, quickly halting her movement. Kimi's attack had surprisingly come close to finding skin. Akemi hadn't anticipated the girl switch to the offensive so quickly. Perhaps the Uchiha was a little more than talk after all. "Better." Akemi informed Kimi, her tone still bland but somehow condescending at the same time. "But still mediocre." Still shrouded in a lightning aura, Kimi stood still for a couple seconds, "Oh really? Let's see if you find my next technique 'mediocre' as well!" The Uchiha then retracted her recently used Steel Claw and quickly performed the dog, boar and snake hand-seals, her aura getting wilder before disappearing in a flash once again, then reappearing in another flash right in front of Akemi! The older kunoichi couldn't react in time to the sheer speed and Kimi managed to land two blows from her now extended hand Steel Claws before zapping right through Akemi and landing a few feet away from her. The two blows from her claws would certainly heavily grieve her opponent, and as if it weren't enough, a 'X' shaped lightning explosion befell Akemi shortly after, forcing the kunoichi to fall on the floor, seemingly defeated, "Unfortunately for you, a single mistake is all it takes for me to finish you off, and yours was underestimating me, an Uchiha." Kimi's lightning aura died down as she spoke in a similar emotionless, but condescending tone, sheathing her claws and crossing her arms as she looked over her shoulder at the grounded girl. "If anything I think I overestimated you." Akemi spoke, her voice oddly calm and unburdened for someone who had just been mortally wounded. "Your attack made a mess of my vest, but didn't even scratch me." Without even moving a muscle, Akemi's body began sinking into the rock floor, as if the girl had been lying on fast moving quicksand. In mere moment's Akemi had been completely engulfed by the rock, disappearing from view. Mere moments after Akemi's disappearance, the earth wall of the massive chamber began shaking. Without warning, the rock beneath Kimi gave way, swallowing up to her knees and locking the kunoichi in solid stone. "You being an Uchiha means nothing to me." Akemi spoke in a strong voice, now standing atop a higher section of rock behind Kimi. "Just the leftovers of a once powerful clan trying to grasp at any last shred of prominence they come across. Most of you were so weak a single man slaughtered you all in a single night, one of your own in fact. Are you truly proud to bear that Uchiha name?" "What did you just say?" Kimi slightly tilted her head up from the shifted floor that caught her by surprise, upon hearing Akemi's offensive statements, once again the mention of the massacre riling up the young girl further, "And from what clan do you hail from? Does someone who considers herself a weapon even have a family?!" Kimi suddenly looks over her shoulder at Akemi, her Sharingan suddenly shifting form to a "X" pattern, "Just who the hell do you think you are to talk trash like that about the Uchiha?!" The Kimi buried in the earth suddenly 'puffed' in white smoke, then a wooden log appearing in her stead. The clever use of the basic Replacement Technique was notably well executed. Akemi found herself taking a mere moment to process what had just happened to her enemy, a moment that could prove fatal. From behind Akemi, Kimi zoomed out of nowhere, ready to strike at the older kunoichi with her Steel Claws again, "I'll shred your face to pieces, you scum!" Seemingly caught off guard, Akemi could do little but try and draw her sword before her opponent's claws found flesh to cleave from her body, but with Kimi's speed such an action seemed unlikely of success. Akemi turned her body, her kukri unsheathed but still lagging behind. Akemi looked up, inadvertently meeting the crimson gaze of her Uchiha adversary, filled with an obvious rage. Kimi's left eye glowed as the two kunoichi made eye contact, "Kunitsukami!" Kimi shouted mentally. The two clashed once more and locked themselves in another close-quarters fight, except this time Kimi seemed to be predicting almost every move Akemi made, either defensive or offensive, beyond even what her Sharingan allowed her to do. In time, Akemi herself started feeling a somewhat unnatural sense of dread, momentarily taking away her focus from the fight and allowing Kimi an opening, which she took advantage of; Kimi quickly slashed a few times on Akemi's vulnerable body and finished her off with a powerful kick to the gut that sent the wounded kunoichi tumbling back. Still visibly angry, Kimi snarled at her fallen opponent, "Don't mock the Uchiha's visual prowess!" Flat on her back, Akemi lifted her head to look at Kimi, no expression on her face as it slowly began losing its color. In mere moments, all the color from Akemi's body had faded into an earthly brown. The soft earth that had made up Akemi's clone began crumbling, quickly reducing to a pile of soft dirt. "That was quite interesting." Akemi said, appearing on the side of Kimi opposite her clone. "What was it you just did to my clone? It certainly wasn't a technique I'm familiar with." Akemi stud with her arms folded across her abdomen, apparently waiting for an answer. "Tch..." Kimi frowned at the sight of the decomposing clone, meaning most of her effort had been worthless. "What's it to you?" Kimi said after hearing Akemi, slightly turning around to look at her with disdain on her visage, blood running down her cheek from her left eye, "You were criticizing the Uchiha just moments ago, and now you find my techniques interesting?" Kimi raised her right hand and began infusing her Steel Claws with lightning, goggling her eyes in the process "And what makes you think I'd tell jack shit to a hypocrite like you?" "So that technique was linked to your Sharingan." Akemi said, observing the blood trickle down Kimi's face from her eye, all but ignoring Kimi's comment. "In which case such a technique has drawbacks. How many times can you home to activate it before your eyes cease to function?" "From what I know, you Uchiha can only activate the Mangekyō so many times before your eyes lose their light." Akemi's voice said form the other side of Kimi, without a doubt another clone. "Are you really willing to condemn yourself to darkness for this petty confrontation?" "I'll let you know I take all my confrontations seriously, no matter the cost. It would be weakness not do so." The electricity running on Kimi's blades started to agitate, eventually turning into a bright yellowish-white hue, "If my Fatal Claw didn't affect her, then how about my Energy Release?" Without warning, Kimi lunged with it at Akemi, "Brace yourself! Yaaah!!!" An abrupt offense required an equally abrupt defense. Without even forming her hand seals, Akemi erected a shield from the earth at her feet. This however, was not one of her simple Earth Release shields. This barrier gave off a brilliant shine in the artificial light, the large diamond as beautiful as ever. Surely the Kekkei Genkai would be more than enough to stop whatever attack her adversary threw at her. Akemi was confident enough in her defense that she didn't even bother to move. Kimi's attack struck the diamond shield with tremendous force, but Kimi appeared to have been halted on the other side. "That defense is significantly harder than steel." Akemi explained calmly, feeling safe behind her shield. "Don't bother trying to..." Akemi trailed off, noticing a soft white glow in the center of her diamond shield. Akemi quickly jumped back, just as Kimi's arm came piercing through the diamond shield, missing Akemi's abdomen by just a few inches. Now at a safe distance from Kimi's attack, Akemi once again took a fighting stance, startled by the fact her shield was unable to protect her from whatever attack Kimi had used. Kimi didn't waste time and continued her assault; she thrust her arm forwards and shouted, "Amagiri!!!" The energy on her hand began extending towards Akemi at a concerning speed. Although it didn't appear to be aimed at any vital spot, it would still wound Akemi considerably should it hit. Akemi reacted to Kimi's attack in the same way she previously had, erecting a Diamond Shield as quickly as possible, blocking the incoming attack. The shield seemed to keep the strange attack at bay for a few moments, but as it had before the energy eventually pierced the shield. This time Akemi was more prepared to evade the attack, easily sidestepping the blast, but regardless it was unnerving that Kimi possessed an attack capable of penetrating her diamonds. Playing defensively wasn't going to work any longer. Akemi had little choice but to take the fight to Kimi. Slamming her palms together, Akemi shattered the diamond shield that had failed to protect her, sending the razor sharp fragments of diamond towards Kimi. The energy on Kimi's hand dissipated shortly after her latest attack, "Those diamonds are really tough... and I'm kinda' low on chakra after using Energy Release... but, I won't give up. I '''can't' give up!" Kimi raised her hands and started deflecting the diamond shards with her Steel Claws and the aid of her Sharingan, which had regressed to its original form a while ago. Still, a couple shards grazed on her left shoulder and right cheek, causing a drop of blood to stream down, "Got you on your toes now that your precious shields won't protect you, huh?" Kimi said with a mean grin, awaiting Akemi's next move. "That strange attack of yours is indeed a threat." Akemi admitted. "But that was only a small extent of my Kekkei Genkai, the ancient Diamond Release. Allow me to give you a better demonstration of its capabilities." Akemi again slammed her palms together, but this time she followed this action by slamming her palms into the ground. In mere seconds, several large diamond spikes erected from the ground in front of Kimi, each spike emerging closer to the young Uchiha, threatening to impale her. Witnessing the attack, Kimi naturally responded swiftly by performing several backflips towards the cave's wall, hoping to run up the wall, then the ceiling, and eventually strike back at Akemi. Unfortunately for Kimi, Akemi had predicted her movements well. Clasping her hands together one final time, Akemi formed a wall of diamond directly behind Kimi. The backpedaling kunoichi slammed back first into the diamond wall, which slowly closed in around her. The advancing spikes quickly cut off any room for escape, practically pinning Kimi against the diamond wall. Right before Kimi's eyes the light of the cavern was stripped away, replaced with a strange glistening darkness. She could feel the spikes that had trapped her somehow shift, their fine points now gently pressed against her flesh. "Was that it?" Akemi asked, speaking loudly to ensure Kimi could hear here within her diamond prison. "Does the almighty Uchiha have anything more to offer?" As she had expected, Akemi heard only silence. "You seemed to be pretty sure of yourself to engage me like you did, sure of your own power." Akemi began a casual walk up to the dome Kimi remained trapped in, any slight movement she may desire to make blocked by a diamond spike. "I don't know why Sayuri brought you here. I don't even know why I'm here. But there is no doubt in my mind your eyes have something to do with it." Akemi placed her hand on the diamond, the surface course like sandpaper rather than perfectly smooth. This often happened when Akemi attempted to create large amounts of diamonds at a time, especially with such haste. The craftsmanship tended to suffer when quantity became more important than quality. Hādo had often spent time practicing with Akemi when she was younger, teaching her how to mold and crystallize her chakra into diamonds using their Kekkei Genkai, ensuring each diamond was as smooth as possible. Akemi had mastered this art mere weeks before Hādo's death. Surely now he would have been disappointed with the poor execution of Akemi's Diamond Barrier. The mere thought sparked feelings of rage in Akemi. With her twenty years of experience, Akemi was equal to the level Hādo had been at the time of his death, giving him nearly forty years to perfect his abilities. At the age of five Akemi's mastery of Diamond Release was greater than Hādo's had been at twice the age. She was more talented than Hādo had ever been. Akemi knew it wouldn't have taken her long, perhaps by the age of twenty-two, she would have surpassed Hādo. But she would never be able to prove her power to him, just because the fool had led himself to a meaningless death. Without even thinking about it, Akemi punched the diamond dome, the blow sending a jolt of pain through her arm. Had it not been for her incredibly durable skeletal structure, surely Akemi would have broken something in her hand. Though unintentional, with her display of anger, Akemi also released a surge of chakra, causing the diamond spikes pressing up against Kimi to extend, penetrating the unlucky girl's skin nearly a quarter of an inch. "I wonder." Akemi continued. "Will Sayuri have any use for you after I cut your eyes out of your skull?" Kimi simply resorted to grit her teeth as Akemi berated her. Was this it? Was she going to lose to someone who had openly insulted her heritage, and whose nindō was being a mindless instrument for anyone to use? No... Kimi could feel it. The hatred that she had been accumulating was at its boiling point, and Kimi was about to show her rival what it means to be an Uchiha, the legacy left to her kindred by the God of Shinobi himself. "''No... No! '''NO!!!' I won't die here! Not to the likes of you! Not to ANYONE!!!" Kimi's eyes shot open and her Mangekyō Sharingan reformed once more, glowing very brightly in the darkness created by Akemi's diamond dome, then another, even brighter fuchsia light began consuming the darkness and cracking all the diamond spikes. Akemi could easily feel vibrations coursing all along the dome, which developed into light earth tremors as the dome began to shake violently from heavy hammering. Soon enough, small cracks began forming over the dome, and a thin thread of fuchsia light penetrated from them, as if the dome had been containing a powerful surge of dangerous energy.' Akemi quickly jumped back, unsure of what was happening within her diamond prison. The sudden surge of power was almost frightening. Had the girl trapped within managed to utilize that strange Lighting Release attack again? No, this was too different. Whatever was happening now felt more sinister than anything Kimi had used prior. Akemi's mind raced with possible countermeasures for what was about to happen, but she could think of nothing to do but watch as her diamond barrier began to crack. With more hammering, the cracks began to enlarge, causing the fuchsia light to spread to the outside chamber; in a final blow, what appeared to be a large, skeletal arm erupted from the crystal dome, sending a large chunk of it straight against Akemi. From inside the dome emerged a gigantic spectral humanoid; its bones covered in fuchsia, ethereal fire! It slammed its right hand on the ground while the left hand supported itself on the remaining front of the dome, quickly knocking it over due to its massive frame in a rageful roar, and revealing Kimi standing in the middle as the center of the titanic spectral monster, inside its ribcage. She grit her teeth and had her eyebrows narrowed, her Mangekyō Sharingan eyes wide open and glowing brightly among the fuchsia aura, "You want to pluck my eyes out?! Why don't you come over here and try!!!" A single drop of blood run down her face from her forehead where she had apparently been cut by one of the diamond spikes. The diamond chunk hurled at Akemi caught her off guard, not giving her enough time to disperse it, and instead forced her to fall on her backside to dodge it. It was rare for Akemi to be completely caught off guard, and that was certainly the case. For a second Akemi's eyes went wide, her rock solid gaze momentarily shattered by the awe of what was before her. The stories of the Susanoo were the stuff of legend, their power the things of nightmares. Though Akemi had never witnessed the ability first hand, she had talked to several other shinobi who had experience with the ability, the Seventh Hokage being one of them. All of them described the Susanoo as an unforgettable phenomenon, certainly something to be both respected and feared. As worried as she was at the sight of the skeletal figure, there was a notable glint of excitement as well, for when she spoke, her tone reflected a suppressed glee. "So this is the Susanoo. I've waited a long time to face one in battle." Getting to one knee and forming several quick hand seals, Akemi paused with her hands together. Chakra began oozing from Akemi's body, the intensity shown in the visibility of the chakra as it formed a faint blue mist around the kunoichi. A light updraft causes Akemi's hair to gently move upwards, giving an unobstructed view of the smirk on the girl's face. Akemi gradually began to pull her hands apart, a slender diamond blade filling the space between them until a full-length blade had formed from Akemi's palm. The aura of chakra that had enveloped Akemi began to shift, wrapping around the diamond sword. The massive arm of the Susanoo swung downward with an open palm at an alarming speed, apparently trying to smash the kunoichi with its hand. In order to dodge this, Akemi had to jump away to the side. Unfortunately, for Akemi, the Susanoo again moved with surprising quickness as Kimi lunged with its other arm while Akemi was in midair. With no other options, the primary drawback to her technique, Akemi braced her hand against the side of the diamond sword, taking the full force of the Susanoo's fist. The impact caused Akemi to crash on the ground and tumble back a few times, dust kicking up as her feet slid across the rocky surface when she managed to catch herself back. The impact indeed jarred the kunoichi's genetically enhanced bones, but miraculously didn't result in any serious injury, though, a single drop of blood quickly ran down Akemi's face from her forehead, either from her tumbling or accidently scraping herself on the head with her own blade from the violent impact. Still, Akemi found herself down to a single knee yet again, her legs feeling strained and shaky. If she was going to do this, she would only have one opportunity. Akemi grit her teeth and waited for that opportunity. Seeing Akemi being hit by her Susanoo and still hold her ground put a smirk on Kimi's previously angered visage,"Even when you're cornered, you stand and fight back? I'm assuming you don't like losing then. Well... neither do I! I hope you're ready!" Kimi jumped into the air right after she finished talking, her Susanoo advancing and readying a fist to smash Akemi on the ground! Suddenly, a ripple appeared the fabric of reality in front of Akemi, as none other than Sayuri herself appeared, her Yin Seal released! Kimi goggled her eyes in surprise, "''S-Sayuri?!" Sayuri held her left hand up, blocking Susanoo's punch unflinching and creating a sonic boom in the room from the impact. Akemi was forced to brace her back leg against the ground to prevent herself from falling over, the shock wave that erupted form Sayuri's simple block rattling the entire cavern. Dust flew up into Akemi's face, causing her to lose focus of her technique, resulting in the diamond sword shattering into a sparkling powder. Kimi fell back, standing a few feet away from Sayuri, "Why did you inter... Hng!!!" Kimi felt a sharp pain all over her body and changing her annoyed expression into a painful one, forcing her to take a hand to her head and take the same position as Akemi, grunting in pain. Meanwhile, her Susanoo vanished in a low roar as her eyes returned to normal. "Because you've had enough fun for the evening, and it shows." Sayuri said as she deactivated her Yin Seal, then proceeding to look at her hand and flex her fingers a little, the bone fracture from blocking a Susanoo with her bare hand having been healed, "First things first, congratulations on awakening our clan's most cherished 'guardian angel', the Susanoo. However, its power is not to be abused recklessly, particularly not on petty squabbles like this one. Same goes for the other Mangekyō Sharingan techniques. You're already feeling the drawbacks, aren't you?" Kimi's grunt and grimace seemed to indicate she did, her vision already becoming blurry and her eyes stinging from exhaustion. Akemi also was showing the effects of the skirmish, her breathing labored as she dropped down to both knees and supported herself on her hands. Her technique had taken quite a bit out of her, exhausting nearly twice the chakra in the short time she had it active than she had with every other technique previously. It had been so long since she had called upon the Perfect Cut technique that she had completely forgotten just how taxing it was. "My apologies if I offended you, Sayuri-Sensei." Akemi said between heavy breaths. "I thought you were more disciplined than to let something as petty as this escalate to the point of utilizing S-Ranked techniques." Sayuri's eyes slowly drifting back to Kimi. "Though I guess I can't be too disappointed. Something good indeed came of this skirmish." The ends of Sayuri's plush lips curled into a slight smile. Kimi remained silent for a moment as she recovered, then a smirk came to her, "Heh, I never pull back any punches, no matter the reason of the fight." She said standing up, "I see neither does gem girl here when pushed into a corner. You might actually be worth my time even!" Kimi said with a competitive glint on her slightly tired eyes. "That's my line, so I don't want you to go around wasting your eyes away when we have better use for them. For now, you should get some rest. At this point, we might as well start working with the hard stuff, so I expect you to be on your best shape if you're to even be considered my students." Sayuri replied, a bizarre maternal tone to her voice when she spoke about resting, something that was unusual for the big-bad Sayuri, but strangely fitting at the same time. "I have yet to be shown where you wish for me to rest for the night, Sayuri-sensei." Akemi stated as she calmed stood and bowed before her teacher. "I don't mean to be disrespectful, but I would very much like to be brought there now." "Yes, I suppose I should be showing you both to your room." Sayuri said, turning around to lead them to their room. "Our room?" Kimi asked with a raised eyebrow. "Why of course. Did you girls think that you were getting separate rooms?" As Sayuri spoke there was a small break in Akemi's composure, here eyes blinking twice in surprise and her mouth opening as if to speak but no words escaped. "I assure you there will be adequate space for the two of you." "...Why should I sh-" Kimi tried to complain, before being cut off by Sayuri. "Does it look like I'm running a five-star hotel here?!" Sayuri said half-angry with a deeper voice, looking over her shoulder at Kimi with her Mangekyō Sharingan glowing and a sinister shading suddenly becoming noticeable around her. "N... No, ma'am..." Kimi said sheepishly, surprisingly intimidated. "Good! Any objections?!" Sayuri started with a smile, then turned her head to Akemi with a similar stare and voice. "Not at all sensei." Akemi states without hesitation, withholding her grievances. "Please, show us to our room." ---- After leading the two kunoichi through a maze of dim corridors, Sayuri finally stopped at a simple wooden door nestled into a shallow indent in the stone wall. "Here we are girls." With that, Sayuri gently pushed the door open. The room before Akemi and Kimi resembled that of a inn, minus the stone walls. It consisted of two beds that occupied much of a small living area with two large dressers at the foot of each bed. The room felt rather out of place as compared to the rest of the underground compound. "You can make yourselves comfortable. You're probably both quite tired." Akemi gave a slight bow towards Sayuri before giving a polite "Thank you Sensei" and making her way over to the bed on the left. Kimi hesitates for a moment before entering the room, and Sayuri turns towards her, "What's the matter? Don't you enjoy Cousin Sayuri's hospitality?" "No, but what about the room I was sleeping in?" Kimi said looking back at Sayuri. Sayuri places her hands on Kimi's shoulders and talks closer to her ear, "That's the sick bay. Besides, I want you both to get better acquainted with each other by living together." Kimi's expression seems a bit annoyed, "Hardly... what's gotten into you all of a sudden?" Sayuri then proceeds to toy with Kimi's cheeks, "Oh, it must have been all that sake I drank while watching your little spar. Bad habits die hard, you know? Especially when you get them from someone dear to you!" Her eyes turn into the Sharingan and she seems to get somewhat intimidating suddenly, "Now, go to sleep!" "If you let me go, maybe I will..." Kimi said, obviously annoyed. With one last rough tug, Sayuri released Kimi, her eyes returning to their normal dark color. "I assume you would like us to report somewhere in the morning, Sayuri-sensei?" Akemi asked, having already removed her sheath, kukri and all, and placed it on her bed. "I'll fetch you both when the time is right." Sayuri began slowly moving out the door, still facing her two pupils. "Sleep tight you two." With that, the bedroom door gently closed and Akemi and Kimi were left alone. Kimi wasted no more time and headed off to the unoccupied bed, avoiding glancing at Akemi for the time being. Sitting up on the bed, she slightly hunched over to start removing the hidden blade mechanisms, moving her hands on the gear in her shins and legs, all the while quiet, the only sound coming from the equipment being removed. Within a few moments, both Kimi and Akemi had their vast array of armor and weaponry carefully laid out on their respective beds, Akemi now down to nothing but her tight undershirt and pants, began carefully inspecting her equipment. Her mesh armor vest had taken quite a hit, with a gash having been torn through it large enough for Akemi to stick her head through. Repairing the armor was a less than simple task, and Akemi had enlisted the help of one of the local weapon smiths in Konohagakure to accomplish the task in the past. Obviously, in light of her new status as a rogue shinobi, this was no longer an option for her. She would have to figure out how to repair her vest tomorrow. Moving her vest to the end of the bed, Akemi turned to her two metal bracers, each one turned upwards with the Konoha symbol facing her. It was strange, the symbols had always been a part of Akemi's armor, ever since they had been forged. Now they seemed out of place, an obsolete remnant of the past. For a few moments, Akemi just found herself staring at them, not quite sure how to address the problem at hand. Without even thinking about it, Akemi felt her hand drift towards her kukri, undoing the strap holding the weapon secure in its sheath. She carefully slid the hefty blade free and spun it around in her hand, now holding it firmly in a reverse grip. "That part of my life is over." Akemi whispered, the words not even audible to Kimi only a few feet away. Akemi's hand was unusually shaky. It wasn't the weight of the blade, nor fatigue from the battle she had fought less than half an hour ago, but Akemi's hand refused to remain still. Somehow what Akemi was about to do felt wrong, defiling the symbol that represented her home for two decades. Akemi began pondering if she was actually capable of going through with this, turning her back on her past life and everything she had once believed in. Akemi had been a protector of Konohagakure all her life. Hādo and Yoru had saved her from a life as an instrument of death and re-purposed her as something she had once believed to be a just cause. Could she turn had back on all that? Akemi asked the question in her head over and over again, struggling to find the answer she knew she had. Then, it dawned on her, and he hand suddenly stopped shaking. The answer was that it was too late to ask such a pointless question. She already had turned her back, on everything she once was. Akemi felt a catch in her throat as she dug the diamond tip of her kukri into the bracer, carving a straight line through the steel and the symbol of Konohagakure. As Akemi moved the kukri over to the second bracer, she could feel her eyes beginning to water, but she just told herself it was because her eyes were so dry. After cutting the second symbol, Akemi knocked both her bracers aside and sat down on the bed, doing her best not to let even a single drop of moisture escape her tear duct. Looking up at the ceiling Akemi took several deep breaths. Why was she being so emotional? Every choice she had made was of her own free will. The consequences of her action had been perfectly clear to her, and she had accepted all of it before making those fateful choices. Yet she found herself here, sitting on this bed wondering why it was so hard. Doing her best to focus, Akemi began looking over her equipment, scanning everything to ensure there were no other symbols of her past life that still needed to be crossed out. Her kukri was free, as was her vest and the symbols on her bracers had already been dealt with. Just when Akemi was beginning to feel relieved she would not have to etch out any other remnants of the past, it occurred to her that there was one more symbol that needed to be crossed out, one last mark resembling her past existence as a blind loyalist to a village that viewed her as nothing but a replaceable tool. Akemi ran her hand across the tattoo on her right shoulder, a small red flame surrounded by a diamond. The flame had represented the will of the Kasai, given to her by Yoru and the diamond representing the resolve of the Iwa, given to her by Hādo. Tossing her kukri into her other hand, Akemi silently drove the blade into the tattoo, the blade cutting nearly a quarter inch into her shoulder. Kimi, like Akemi, just kept stripping out of her gear and clothes until she was on her undershirt and shorts as well. Unlike Akemi, however, not much ran through her mind at the moment, besides resting for the next day. Kimi picked up her kunai, which had been damaged by the diamond tip of Akemi's kukri, setting against the upper end of the bed examining it. She glanced at Akemi as the older kunoichi unsheathed her kukri, half apprehensive at first, yet Akemi's demeanor didn't seem to show aggression, but rather... sadness. Kimi observed in silence as the redhead mistreated Konohagakure's symbol by cutting a line into it. Konoha had also been the place she once used to call home, and the village she supposedly had the duty to protect as one of its kunoichi, just like Akemi. However, with most of her family gone, she didn't feel any particular attachment to the village. By now, she'd likely be a rogue shinobi, or probably even declared dead by the village. Even so, she had always kept her headband with her, stored somewhere, something about it that gave her strength to go on and achieve her goals, no matter the pain or consequences she had to bear on her journey. Then, when Akemi proceeded to slash the tattoo on her arm, Kimi finally felt the need to say something, or rather ask, in her usual cool monotone, "Are you hurting?" Waiting to get Akemi's attention, she then asked, "Does bleeding soothe your pain?" Akemi didn't react to Kimi's words right away. She was too busy gritting her teeth and trying not the react to the screaming pain in her shoulder. She simply looked down at the floor, hoping her bangs were long enough to conceal her flaring nostrils as she took in deep breaths of air through her nose. Akemi had been wounded several times in her life, but the sting of a blade gliding through flesh was never easily brushed off, especially without the adrenaline of battle to dull the pain. After a good thirty seconds, Akemi did her best to regain her composure and addressed Kimi. "It's not about trying to soothe my pain." Akemi did her best to speak in a calm voice, but her tone was obviously forced. "The pain is there and I have no choice but to accept it." "Then why are you doing that? What compels you to harm yourself, if not to find some form of solace to your pitiful suffering?" Kimi asked once more, speaking in the same tone as before. "It's not about inflicting the wound upon myself. It's about crossing out this symbol of my past. There is no way I can go back to that life, the only direction I can move now is forward." Akemi looked at the blade in her shoulder. She was holding the weapon as still as she possibly could, as removing the blade would allow the blood to flow freely, though she could already feel the warm red liquid running down her arm. "Hmph. Fair enough." Shortly after Kimi's reply, Akemi notices something is thrown to her bed from Kimi's direction. Turning her head towards the object, sitting there on her side is a first aid kit, "Sayuri will be pissed at you if you mess up the sheets unnecessarily, so you might want to patch that up quickly." Kimi said, having turned her back to Akemi and pulled the covers over herself already. Akemi wasn't quite sure how to respond to the metaphorical olive branch Kimi had just extended. What was it a normal person would say in this situation (as if the situation was anything resembling normal). Was a "thank you" in order, or had Akemi take too long thinking of that simple answer and now saying anything would seem awkward? Akemi figured it was worth a shot. "Thank you." Seemed easy enough. Kimi didn't respond. Wether because she didn't want to or if she had already fallen asleep would be unknown to Akemi. With no more words to be said between the two young woman, Akemi picked the first aid kit up off the bed and began dressing her wound. The coming days would surely be rough for both kunoichi.